All Replies on What do you use to clean your table saw blades?

50 replies so far

If you are close to a Woodcraft Supply, they sell a very good product for cleaning blades. I bought a gallon of it several years ago and still have some. Of course you could order it online if there isn’t one nearby.

The closest Woodcraft to me is in Charleston – about 2 hours away. There is a WoodZone and Rockler outlet in town that I can easily buy cleaner at. However, I’m trying to avoid spending any money unless absolutely neccessary. I’m interested in ways of cleaning the blade using everyday household items. Any ideas would be welcome.

If you’re looking for household cleaners, I’ve used Goop and a clean rag. Seems to take most of the tar and stuff off the blade, and I don’t think there’s anything in there that can hurt the blade or the tips.

I have feard of people using oven cleaner,be sure your outside spray it on wait a couple of minutes,then with a scrubbing brush when all is clean just rinse it off with water and dry the blade. Hope this helps.

Just a heads up Dan, don’t use a degreaser. Most all degreasers (oven cleaner for example) contain a chemical that can break down the bonding of the carbide teeth. Something about carbide teeth flying through my shop gives me the willies. I believe it was Marc Spag that suggested using “little green” cleaning solution. We have it on hand for our little spot carpet cleaner. Soak the blade, and then brush off the resin. It can be reused many times. I also have a couple store bought preventative products I purchased locally. Mann Tool has a 3-pack of Boeshield products for about $30. It contains a preventative spray, a rust removal spray, and a blade and bit cleaner. Since you’re shops aobut 100’ from mine, feel free to borrow some little green if you want to test it before buying. Go to the WoodWhisperer site and watch the most recent podcast. Can’t remember the title. It’s the one in which Marc is doing maintanence after a project. He goes through the cleaning process. Video is worth many words!

SC, I see you have a lot of choices but of all of the things I have tried, good old 409, a cheap rimmed baking sheet, and a brass brush work every time. I soak the TS blade in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, bush, dry, and it is ready to go.

Simple Green, as Scott mentioned, works very well. I read this on the web about 2 years back (lots of people experimented with it). It is known not to cause any problems with the welding of the carbide teeth to the blade. I used it to clean both table saw blades and router bits and it works really well. I usually scrub with an used toothbrush. I usually do not bother to take the blade down (my father managed to drop a blade on the floor and bend a teeth; since then I clean them in place).

I would personally not bother with a specialized product since Simple Green is so good and is so much more cost effective (and you can use it to clan other things in the house).

I’ve used the “orange or citrus version” of Pinesol. It was on sale at Safeway so I figured why not give it a try – the price was right. I found a shallow round pan, poured in some Pinesol and then put the saw blade in for a soak. With a light brushing it came out looking like new. I rinsed off the Pinesol, dried the blade and then used WD40 to remove any moisture. Rather than dump out the used Pinesol, I just used a funnel and put it back in the bottle.

I used Simple Green on two of my blades last night. Set them in a pizza pan, sprayed on a little green, let it set a few minutes then brushed off with a brass brush. They look great but I have not cut with one yet.

If I recall you mix it with 1 part water, and 1 part resin remover, I don’t recall anymore I have a 1 gallon gas container that I have filled with the already mixed resin remover. I’ve had it for a year or so and it still works.

When I want to clean my blade I poor enough into an oil drip pan that has a spout on it, instead of the blue container they sell. Then I let it soak for about 10 minutes and I use a tooth brush on the blade teeth for any extra “scrubbing”.

After the blade is clean I use a funnel and a paint filter to poor the solution back into the gas container and it’s good to go.

I also keep a small container of this stuff near my drill press, after using a drill bit I drop it in the container for 10 minutes or so and then use a tooth brush on it, keeps my bits clean and use the same on my router bits.

I know this post is a bit outdated but if I were to use WD-40 wouldn’t I need to use something else to clean that off the blade as well so it doesn’t transfer onto my work piece? If that’s the case what would be best to wipe off the WD-40? 409?

-- The things I make may be for others, but how I make them is for me. - Tony Konovaloff www.lockeswoodshop.com

There are many different products on the market. Their effectiveness varies. Some are touted as “green” and usually cost the most. The least expensive is oven cleaner, TSP and household lye. The last one is very effective, but also the most dangerous to use. It can cause severe burns if you don’t take suitable precautions, like rubber gloves and eye protection. Some cleaners take a long time to work. Lye works in a few minutes. You have to rinse the blade very well in water. If you use it in the kitchen sink, be careful not to let the solution go into your garbage disposal. It will eat through some models. Use lye in a plastic bucket large enough to hold the blate flat. You don’t need much lye; maybe a teaspoon in hot water, enough to cover the blade. Use a SS brush to clean the blade. TSP is also good, but works slower than lye. Oven cleaner works well; it’s active ingredient is lye (sodium hydroxide). I’m not a greenie; a little lye won’t bring the world to an end.

I use either oven cleaner, or lacquer thinner where I immerse the blade and put it in a covered, sealed container.If I use oven cleaner, I have to wash the blade off and rinse away the oven cleaner, sometimes a nasty task. My lacquer thinner I simply get a funnel and put it back in its original can, to be used again. Any debris from the blade floats to the bottom of the can and I never see it.

I clean mine with Worchestershire sauce. It removes rust. I put a little on and rub around with my finger and then let it set. Some people let it soak in a tray. I then scrub a little with a brass bristle brush and wipe off. I repeat application as required for more stubborn burns, stains, resin residue, etc. You can also soak hardware, screws, etc. in Worchestershire sauce and remove rust.

Tungsten Carbide sawbladesharping stations use Sodium hydroxide (Caustic Soda) Solve in a tub or somthing else (a little) Caustic Soda in water. Put your entire sawblade a night over in this tub. The next day your blade is clean. Rinse your sawblade thoroughly with water, dry it with a cloth, and after this put WD 40 or something similar against rust on your blade.